MacBook Pro may have dedicated OS SSD, larger glass trackpad

The rumors surrounding a new MacBook Pro are continuing to appear online. It is widely expected now that a new version of Apple’s laptop will arrive within the next two weeks, and possibly even on Thursday (Steve Jobs’ birthday).

BGR has uncovered two new pieces of information regarding the new models. First of all, we can apparently expect a larger glass trackpad than the current Pro models have.

Second, and less believable, is the fact Apple has decided to include a dedicated SSD for the operating system to run on. Such a drive is thought to be either 8 or 16GB and would certainly make for a fast boot-up process. A second standard hard drive will be included for everything else, or a second SSD can be opted for if you don’t mind paying extra.

Even with the extra drive, the new MacBook Pro is expected to be around half a pound lighter and will be available in 5 base models. What’s unclear is whether all models will have the OS SSD, or if it is only going to be offered on certain SKUs.

Using an SSD for the operating system has two advantages. The first is of course the additional speed of loading data meaning very fast boot times. The second is the fact that SSDs use less power than a standard hard drive. That means longer battery life and the ability to spin down the data hard drive while leaving the OS accessible.

Purchasing an SSD is getting cheaper, but still comes at a premium price. So if this inclusion with MacBook Pros is true, I wonder if Apple will also be pushing the prices up on these new models?